The Important but Not So Fun Parts of Your Spiritual Awakening

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the misconceptions of the spiritual awakening and journey. People often talk about the peace, clarity, confidence, and fulfillment that comes with this path but they forget to recognize that a lot of pain and discomfort comes with this journey as well. Today I wanted to share some of the things that not many people talk about in hopes to give you a heads up or provide some comfort if you’re going through this stage in your awakening.

Some things you may experience during your spiritual awakening:

1. Grieving your past self 
   • I spent a good part of the last 3 years feeling pulled between my old self and my new, awakened self. I kept reverting back to old patterns and habits and felt so much resistance to letting go of the things no longer serving me. I literally spent several nights mourning my past self. Lost dreams, sense of self, the idea of what life should look like. 
2. The loneliness that comes with feeling disconnected yet connected to everything around you
   • Feeling like your entire life has been a lie? Yeah, that’s normal. The disconnect between your physical reality and your mental reality can take time to catch up with each other. It can feel extremely lonely and like you have to walk this path alone, especially when the people around you don’t understand what you’re going through. You are not alone but know that this is your journey so it will feel lonely at times.
3. Nights lying awake in bed wondering if you’ll ever find clarity
   • Self-explanatory but in the midst of the unknown, you will constantly doubt yourself. I constantly doubt myself and my path. I question my inner knowing. I question the things that don’t make sense but I know are true in my heart. Keep trusting and sitting with the discomfort of the uncertainty. I often feel like I am walking forward blindly. I know that there is a path laid out in front of me but I cannot see it. Take one step at a time and this will become clearer in time.
4. Losing friends who do not understand the path you are one
   • The more I commit to the spiritual path, the fewer friends I feel like I have. I no longer am able to keep up with superficial friendships and I crave a deeper connection. I have drifted from many people in my life as I have set stronger boundaries for my time and energy and started getting deeper into mystical things like astrology, tarot, energy healing, and witchcraft. Some people aren’t going to get it and that’s okay. You aren’t an energetic match for everyone and that doesn’t make either of you bad people. Let them go with grace and love–you’ll come together in another lifetime or later in this one.
5. Feeling insecurity from going against the norm
   • As a 22-year-old, it is not normal to be sober and prefer going to cacao ceremonies over bars on a Saturday night. But I’ve realized, I’d rather go against the norm than against myself. It is difficult to stay in your worth and do the things you want to do alone or constantly get questioned for why you are living the way you are...but it’s your life. Embrace it. Show up and say, “hello world, this is who I am and I am not ashamed.” People respect that.
6. The paralyzing overwhelm from everything to learn and wanting to understand it all now
   • When it comes to spirituality, there is a lot to learn. Like this stuff takes multiple lifetimes to learn. I know, especially at the beginning of your spiritual awakening, you want to learn it all and it’s easy to get frustrated when you don’t understand everything all at once. My biggest piece of advice is to focus on one thing at a time. Interested in learning the tarot? Take a course and focus on that for a month. Interested in herbalism? Do the same. Little by little, you will learn and understand what you are meant to. It’s all happening at the perfect timing. 
7. Wanting to give up when things get difficult
   • I’m talking about shadow work, baby. Some of the most important parts about your path are going to be the most difficult. The more discomfort, the more room to grow. It can be easy to revert back into old, more comfortable habits and patterns (and it’s ok if you do!) but the real transformation comes when you jump off the cliff and face the things that you fear most.

The thing about the spiritual awakening is, everyone’s path is going to look different. Some people awaken quickly and some awaken slowly throughout the course of their entire lives and some never awaken. There’s no right way. If you’re here, you are already on this journey. Opening up to my spirituality and this higher vibration lifestyle has been the most fulfilling journey that I’ve walked in this life. The past 3 years have shown me so much beauty but they have been difficult. I have felt lonely, unsure, disconnected, lost, the majority of the time but once you feel the inner trust that you need to move through the discomfort, everything is worth it. 

I hope that this can validate some of the things you have been experiencing if you are new to the spiritual life. It’s a never ending journey but one that makes life so much more vibrant. I’m here if you need support or want someone to talk to–the journey may be lonely but you don’t have to go through it alone. 

All my love.

If you are beginning your spiritual journey or simply are looking for more peace in your life, sign up for my FREE program, 14 Days of Presence which will teach you the basics of meditation and mindfulness.